Tag Archives: Centre For Innovation

### ODT Online Wed, 13 Jul 2011New network aims to take innovation to market
By Simon Hartley
Otago has staked a claim as a founding member in a new science and technology commercialisation network with combined annual research funding of $500 million, between several universities and crown research institutes.

With up to 20 projects, mainly involving life sciences, under way from University of Otago research, its intellectual property (IP) subsidiary, Otago Innovation Ltd, is welcoming the KiwiNet initiative for national research collaboration and the “one stop shop” for potential domestic and overseas investors.

### ODT Online Wed, 29 Dec 2010Are phones the new guidebooks?
By Hamish McNeilly
Guidebooks may be a thing of the past, thanks to an innovative Dunedin company which turns smartphones into a mobile tourism information service. Smartphone applications represented the most exciting possibilities for the fast moving tourism industry since the introduction of maps and guidebooks, AA Tourism online general manager Roger Slater said.

At the forefront of this technology was Dunedin company iVisit, which has spent nearly a year creating the smartphone application XplrNZ.

WIC NZ Ltd formally announced today the availability of its Innovate 100 programme. This initiative is aimed at assisting the growing population of Internet startup companies and creative industries in Dunedin in the process of developing innovative and compelling online content to be delivered to consumers in New Zealand and the rest of the world. WIC NZ pioneered low-cost, fixed-rate commercial and residential connections with no data caps or excess data charges, removing barriers to entry and other disincentives to use amongst the user population.

New and innovative ideas on the Internet take time to evolve and mature and can gain critical mass only through engagement with a wide audience. Where there is a high barrier or cost of entry to providing content, often these ideas do not have time or opportunity to flourish. Innovate 100 is a solution to reduce those barriers and retain creative, innovative thinkers within the Dunedin community.

Innovate 100 provides an online digital content producer with access capacity of up to 100Mbps of outbound Internet traffic. The access points for this service are open to existing and new customers at high-capacity fibre-connected nodes in Dunedin city. Content served via Innovate 100 is peered nationally at all of the neutral Internet exchanges to facilitate rapid access from all consumers regardless of ISP.

Innovate 100 is a step beyond existing service offerings and takes advantage of increased capabilities and under-utilised outbound capacity on our Internet backhaul. We believe that with the advent of Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB), a robust content and hosting ecosystem needs to evolve to meet future demand. Innovate 100 is the first step in stimulating local content providers to experiment with new ideas that will scale up to meet this demand. Stu Fleming, Managing Director and Chief Technical Officer of WIC NZ says: “This is the lowest cost of entry that we can think of to enable Dunedin-based content providers to be able to implement their ideas and get their online content to the world. All you need is a server and a network cable.”

Innovate 100 is available to new and existing WIC NZ customers and associates of The Distiller. “WIC NZ has been a long-time champion for Dunedin’s bootstrapped technology entrepreneurs through its unconditional support of The Distiller since its inception,” says Jason Leong, co-founder of The Distiller and PocketSmith. “Innovate 100 is a clear example of the forward thinking and action that will uplift Dunedin’s profile as a cradle for entrepreneurship, and we’re very excited to be a part this remarkable opportunity. We look forward to partnering with WIC NZ in building the next generation of products and services that will be consumed over the broadband of tomorrow.”

The Innovate 100 programme will operate for 12 months from January 2011. It is available initially at WIC NZ’s hosting centre at Cresswell St, Dunedin and within the Centre for Innovation at St David Street, Dunedin. WIC NZ is a Layer 2 provider with Flute Networks and can extend Innovate 100 at cost to reach any location within the Flute Networks coverage area.

WIC NZ Ltd is a Dunedin-based, privately-owned independent Internet Service provider operating since 2004. For more details regarding these announcements, please contact:

### ODT Online Sat, 9 Oct 2010Minding others’ business
By Dene Mackenzie
For years, Dunedin has been grappling with ways to keep its best and brightest residents in the city. As parents have watched their children leave, many not to return, much handwringing by civic and community leaders has taken place. Business editor Dene Mackenzie talks to a group of young entrepreneurs prepared to do something about it, at their own cost.
Jason Leong, Francois Bondiguel and James Wigglesworth (all of Pocketsmith), Pierre-Emmanuel Perruchot de La Bussiere (iVisit) and Tim Calder (ParkHawk) are busy building their own businesses and careers but spend many hours each week encouraging a new generation to succeed.
The five men founded The Distiller, an independent non-profit project that focuses primarily on technology-related, pre-seed entrepreneurial ventures.Read more

### ODT Online Sat, 9 Oct 2010Access provider has confidence in association
By Dene Mackenzie
Wireless internet company owner Stuart Fleming is quietly confident that his decision to provide massive amounts of free internet to The Distiller will pay dividends for him and Dunedin. Seven years ago, Mr Fleming started his company, WIC, at the Centre For Innovation in the suite next to where The Distiller now operates.Read more